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I find Point 4 to be problematic - generally the gods have prerogatives
for messing things up that mortals simply can't dream of.  Otherwise,
we'd have to explain why following the example of Huitzilopochtli at his
birth (killing his sister and four hundred stars) isn't such a great
idea.

 

Dan Harms

Coordinator of Instruction Librarian

SUNY Cortland Memorial Library

P.O. Box 2000 
Cortland NY, 13045

(607) 753-4042

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Society for The Academic Study of Magic
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Caelum
Rainieri
Sent: Monday, December 12, 2005 7:52 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Reconstructing a Magico-Religious System

 

One of my pet projects for the last couple of years has been
reconstructing the pre-Colonial magico-religious system of the Aztec
civilization, which is really the religion of Mesoamerica in general
dating back to the Olmec (each successive civilization borrowed from the
former one). 

 

One of my reference books for the project is David Carrasco's City of
Sacrifice (Beacon Press, 1999). In it, he lists 5 factors that are
informed by J.Z. Smith's "locative view of the world", which Smith
defines as "a map of the world that guarantees meaning and value through
structures of conjunction and conformity." 

 

Here are the 5 factors:

 

1. There is a cosmic order which permeates every level of reality;

2. This cosmic order is the divine society of the gods;

3. The structure and dynamics of this society can be discerned in the
movement and patterned juxtaposition of the heavenly bodies;

4. Human society should be a microcosm of the divine society;

5. The chief responsibility of priests and kings is to attune human
order to the divine order.

 

This seems like a sound structure to me. I was wondering what some of
you think of it?

 

Caelum Rainieri



-----------------------
www.nahualli.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aztec_reconstructionism/

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